Insurrection
by Nocturne of Eclipse
Summary: Some would call his actions mere acts of teenage rebellion, brought on by his stand-offish nature, but really, was getting rid of his father too much to ask? Giovanni didn't quite think so, and when the opportunity to put his plans into action reveals itself, he'll gladly take it. What's a criminal organization without a little bit of insurrection, anyways?


**Insurrection**

A one-shot by Nocturne of Eclipse

Disclaimer: Pokemon and all related characters are property of Nintendo.

"Get you and your scruffy cat's asses out of here, you piece of shit, before I give you a Mew-damned concussion!" The shaggy-haired teenager stumbled as his father practically hurled him from the office, barely managing to catch himself on the wall. He wiped the bit of blood from the corner of his mouth and scowled, glaring at black-haired man retreating behind the heavy oak doors.

"At least I'm not an arrogant douchebag that gets drunk off his ass every fucking day!" he snarled in reply. Quickly, his eyes widened, and he had to duck to avoid the half-full beer bottle that ended up shattering on the wall behind him, not only getting on his hoodie and making him reek even _worse_ of the stuff, but also spilling all over the floor. He angrily turned his gaze to the now-closed doors. "_JACK-ASS!_"

"Mreaa?" The young man glanced down to find his persian disdainfully attempting to clean the brew off its sparkling coat. He sighed and squatted, scratching behind the cat pokemon's ears.

"Yeah," he said softly, "Dad's a jerk. I'm sorry you got some on you, and I know you don't like the smell, but we gotta deal with it, for now... I don't think we'll be able to get it out very well in the men's room. You can handle it for a while, can't you, Persian?" The normal-type meowed his agreement and the teenager smiled before pushing himself back to his full height. "Well, we've got nothing to do, since Mom's gone to visit Nonna and Nonno in Venice... What say we ditch this dump and go for a stroll in the forest? It snowed, this morning- it should be pretty nice out." At Persian's excited agreement, the young man's smile broadened and he set off at a leisurely pace, checking his wallet briefly to make sure he had his security clearance card on him- didn't want to be stuck outside the base until Mom got home, _that_ was for sure.

He whistled as he strutted along, nodding his head to groups of grunts or pairs of admins who were wandering around the base, as well. At one point in history, when he was younger, the worn tile floors and unforgiving concrete walls had been bleak and disheartening, especially compared to the outside world. What he wouldn't have given to live in a quaint house in Celadon like a _normal_ person. But that had been a long time ago. There was an inherent beauty in it all, he realized now- not a physical one, Mew no, but a spiritual one, with an almost sort of elegance in its simplicity. It provided safety and shelter for thousands who would otherwise be on the streets, running from the law, a sturdy fortress practically invisible from the eyes of the prying world. Then again, maybe he thought this out of prejudice.

This was, after all, the place he, Giovanni Sakaki, had called home for all fifteen years of his life.

There were plenty more Rockets lounging around in the base, and he went out of his way to greet everyone he ran into; for whatever reason, many of the them seemed to have a bit of a soft-spot for him, and he was content to keep it that way, as it could make getting away with things _very _convenient at times. The grounds were covered in snow, at least four or fives inches of it, making the decidedly large clearing sparkle beautifully- the lake was even frozen over, and Giovanni made a mental note to look into getting his canvas outside so he could give a try at painting it. Persian was delighted to hop around in the snow after him as he trekked on towards the gates, every now and then having to dodge stray snowballs from the intense war that seemed to be going on between the scientists and the engineers over by the hangar.

The guards stationed at the gate let him outside with a warning to keep himself warm, and with a quick acknowledgment of their concern, Giovanni was off, jogging as he dodged and weaved between trees, Persian nimbly following at his heels. The forest itself was coated in snow, densely packed with both barren trees and evergreens and the occasional rotting log he had to jump over. The frigidness of the air was positively energizing, and the shaggy brunette couldn't help but laugh as he accelerated into a full-out run, playfully chasing and being chased by Persian. It was times like these that he could best forget the trials of his homelife.

His father had always been a drunkard, for as long as he could remember. He reveled in pushing Giovanni's mother around, and when he got bored, he tended to consider Giovanni himself as more of a breathing punching bag than his own flesh and blood. Giovanni always wondered what his mother had seen in the lazy-ass bastard, why she had married him- he never asked, of course, it was his mother's business, not his, and he was already called a brat for enough things in one day for him to bother adding more.

The problem was, he mused as he stopped running to begin climbing some random tree or another, that his father was too much respected within the team. Liked, no, but respected, very much so. He was powerful and influential and intimidating, to the point where no one dared to speak out against him, not even his wife- well, maybe not _no one_. Giovanni sure as hell did, as often as he could, now. He stopped respecting his father the night he'd laid in bed with broken ribs (three, it turned out to be when he stopped by the med wing the next day) listening as an argument between his parents had ended in violence, and his mother had to be treated for a dislocated shoulder and a fracture in her skull. If only he had the strength to truly stand up to his father... He began to leap from branch to branch between trees, finally landing on a particularly sturdy, thick branch where he settled down for a break, Persian soon joining him and laying down on his legs.

"I wonder if it would be better to just stay out here, tonight," he sighed as he stroked the scruffy pokemon's fur. Persian gave him an incredulous look. "Hey, I'm just saying. We could build a little shelter- maybe make a little burrow in the snow or something, huddle together and stuff. Mom's probably not going to be back in town for a while... you know the only reason she comes back is to keep an eye on us, anyways."

"Mreaa." Persian butted his head against Giovanni's abdomen. "Mreaaa... mreaa..."

"He's probably pissed, though; we'll go home and we'll _both_ have to visit the med wing, tomorrow. Last time he knocked you out and threatened to skin you!" the trainer protested. "When I tried to protect you he threw me into the wall, and I passed out... We're just lucky he got bored of beating us..." Persian sighed heavily and didn't reply, instead purring deeply as Giovanni continued to pet him.

"...What we need," the brunette continued quietly after a moment, "is a way to overthrow him. Get him out of here for good. But no one's brave enough to stand up to him; you know last week, construction finished on that new level of the Underground he commissioned? He's promoted some new interrogators, too- people are scared out of their minds, right now." He leaned back against the rough bark of the tree's trunk, tilting his head back and closing his eyes as he thought. "We need an army of our own." All was quiet for a while. Persian's constant purring was the most soothing sound to Giovanni in the world, and he slowly began to drift off to sleep, relaxing even despite the biting cold and the measly one layer of clothing he was currently wearing.

When he next woke, it was with a jolt, because he had felt something fall on him, and glanced around quickly. Slowly, he realized it had only been a bit of frost, as it had begun snowing lightly in the now-twilight. He idly wondered how long he'd been asleep. Gently, he nudged his sleeping cat.

"Persian," he said, "Persian, wake up. I think we should head back to the base, now, see if they've got anything warm to eat in the cafeteria..." The tan pokemon yawned widely as he slowly woke, blinking blearily. Giovanni grinned at the sight and gave his furry friend another quick scratch behind the ears. Maybe, he began thinking as he prepared himself to climb down, they would have a nice stew or thick soup- of course, if they didn't, mashed potatoes would be just as good and- all of sudden, there was the snapping of twigs from the ground below, and both Giovanni and Persian froze immediately. Slowly, his ears straining to hear any bit of sound, Giovanni steadied himself on the branch and looked down. A trainer, possibly no older than Giovanni himself, was trudging slowly through the snow, wearing naught but a faded red t-shirt, worn jeans, and a pair of hiking boots. His red hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, and in his arms he carried a tired-looking eevee.

"Don't worry, Princess." The ginger was speaking English, with a distinctly British accent, marking him as a native of Hoenn. "There's got to be a Center around here, somewhere..." He was shivering violently, Giovanni noted, and the eevee looked to be hurt and completely exhausted. "Just stay with me, okay? You're gonna be alright, and we'll get you some food and a nice new pokeball, a-and... It's all gonna be alright, okay?" The eevee opened its mouth to give a weak, pitiful cry in reply.

"I don't think they're a threat, Persian," Giovanni whispered, and the cat nodded silently in reply. "Poor guy. He's probably just gonna freeze to death, out here." They watched the ginger walk just a little bit further before he fell to his knees, swearing angrily before he fell again, this time face-first into the snow. When he managed to sit back up, propping himself against a nearby fallen log, he began murmuring over and over what sounded like no more than a stream of teary apologies to the small eevee in his arms. Giovanni and Persian exchanged glances. Generally they weren't supposed to recruit this late into the season... and it's not like they absolutely _needed _another grunt... On top of that, his father would be absolutely _furious_, and... _Dad,_ Giovanni thought in distaste, his lip curling into a sneer. Anything that would piss the old man off was alright in _his_ books, and what was more... this broken, stranded ginger could quite possibly be the very beginnings of his own personal legion...

His mind made up, Giovanni leaped nimbly from the branch, landing with the quiet crinkling of snow underfoot, Persian following shortly thereafter. The ginger started and clutched his injured pokemon even more tightly to his chest. Silently, he glanced the other boy over, taking note of his blue-tinged skin and gangly form; he didn't look like he would make much of a footsoldier, but perhaps...

"Wh-who are you?" the ginger demanded, quite brazen considering his predicament. "You're a Rocket, aren't you?! I've heard stories of you lot hanging around in this place- if you think you're taking my pokemon, think again!"

"I don't believe you'd put up much of a fight, in your current state," Giovanni replied coolly. He had to wince a little; it had been a while since he'd spoken in English, what with Japanese being Kanto's native language, and his accent was coming out quite thickly- it was a wonder the Hoennian managed to understand him well enough at all. Ignoring the boy's rather _colorful_ protests, he kneeled next to him to check his temperature. "You've got a fever... _and_ you're freezing to death, out here. I'd give you a couple hours more, at best."

"Get the fuck away from me, wanker!" the Hoennian snapped. He attempted to move, but seemed to become increasingly frustrated when he couldn't. "Dammit! It's all... going _numb_... _Dammit...!_"

"Persian?" Giovanni glanced back at his furry companion, who meowed. "See if you can carry the eevee. I've got the guy. We need to hurry." With another meow, Persian slunk over to the boy and grabbed the eevee by the scruff of the neck, pulling it easily out of the boy's weakening grip.

"No- Princess-!" He tried to lunge to get it back, but Persian was already out of his reach, and he did nothing more than fall back over into the snow. Giovanni sighed. At least he had guts- or maybe he was just stupid. He grabbed the ginger's arm and pulled it around his shoulders with one hand, wrapping his other one around him to support him as they stood. "Don't... don't hurt her... please, don't hurt her..."

"Don't worry," Giovanni replied gently, "she'll be fine. We'll take you both to the medical wing, and I'll get a new pokeball for her. You're both going to be okay- you just gotta trust me, alright?"

"You're a _Rocket_," the ginger pointed out, "why should I trust _you_?" Slowly, Giovanni grinned.

"Well... I'm not leaving you to die, am I?" They began their trek back to the base; it was difficult, as the ginger could barely walk, and stumbled more often then not. At least they weren't too far away from the gate. "What's your name, kid?" They had to pause for a moment as the ginger stumbled again.

"...Maxie. Call me Maxie," he replied once they had continued pressing on. "I'm... from Slateport."

"Slateport, huh? I hear it's pretty nice, there. Hey, do me a favor and try to take bigger steps, alright? I know it's hard, but we have to get you inside, quickly." Maxie did as asked, and though it still wasn't a regular-sized stride, it was enough to help.

"...I'm not sure if I want to go inside...," he said quietly. "If I go in, I won't ever come back out... will I...?" Giovanni laughed a little bit.

"Maybe not," he replied, "but that depends entirely on you."

"No," Maxie disagreed, "no, I'll have been inside your base, I'll know where you are- you wouldn't want the police knowing that kind of stuff. I won't ever leave, and Princess... I'll never see her, again..."

"There's always a way, Max." Giovanni glanced up from the path in front of them, finding that they had drifted to the tall steel wall that surrounded the grounds. "We're almost there. You know, my mom taught me how to make the _best_ hot cocoa..." Maxie wasn't interested in warm, chocolate-y goodness at the moment, it seemed.

"What way could there possibly be?!" he snapped. "You're either going to off me or keep me prisoner, it doesn't take a Rayquaza-damn _genius_ to figure that out!"

"Fuck!" Giovanni scowled at him. "Don't yell in my ear, _aho_!"

"Did you just call me a _hoe_?!"

"_Aho_! You're in _Kanto_, learn fucking Japanese!" They paused and leveled each other with dry stares before Giovanni continued. "...You could become one of us." Maxie looked completely taken aback by the suggestion. "Hear me out. Right now, the guy who runs this dump is a complete bastard, rules the place with an iron fist..."

"And _that's_ supposed to entice me to join?!"

"I said _hear me out_." One glare and Maxie immediately quieted, staring intently at the snow covering the ground. "He's a complete asshole, and everyone's afraid to stand up to him, _but_... I have a plan. A plan to overthrow him and take over, but for that... I need people on my side. People who won't be afraid to stand against him. For a while, it'll be... _difficult_. But once we win, and once he's gone, I can guarantee you, anyone who was loyal to my cause will be _handsomely rewarded_." Maxie didn't reply; the two were silent as they passed through the gates and security checkpoint, and Persian started to run on ahead of them once they were back inside the clearing.

"...So you're not helping me just because I look like I need it," the Hoennian finally said. "You're helping me because you think I'd be a good addition to your little rebellion."

"You could say that, yeah. I won't deny it."They paused once more, almost half-way to the sliding doors into the lobby. Slowly, Maxie lifted his gaze from his feet and smirked.

"Well... I never have been one much for authority," he said. "Tell me more about this idea of yours." Giovanni returned a smirk of his own and began to lead Maxie into the building and towards the medical wing.

"Gladly. Now, the leader has his own personal army of body guards, so the _first_ thing we need to do is..."


End file.
